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"1169 And Counting is a wealth of information on our Republican past and present , and demonstrates how the Irish political landscape , like that of any nation, will never be a black and white issue..."

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Friday, January 27, 2006

THE DUBLIN COUNCIL OF TRADE UNIONS - founded on March 3rd , 1886 : 120 years ago this year .First published in 'AP/RN' , 27th February 1986 .

Monday , March 3rd 1986 marks the centenary of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) . To commemorate this occasion , Donal Lyons , with the invaluable co-operation of the DCTU's Centenary Arrangements Committee and the Irish Labour History Society traces the history of the DCTU from its inception , through to the traumatic 1913 Lock-Out , its leaders' involvement in the 1916 Rising and right up to the present day's campaign for tax reform :

The Dublin Council of Trade Unions was formed in the rather inappropriately-named and long-since-demolished Odd Fellows' Hall on Dublin's Southside on March 3rd 1886 . The inaugural delegate meeting of 27 unions had its origins in an exhibition in 1884 where the work of Dublin artisans was shown . Thirty-four unions were involved in the show and the regular meetings required to set the display up impressed upon the unions the need for a central body in Dublin to represent the needs of labour .

In its formative years , the DCTU was totally dominated by the craft unions and was inclined to be somewhat arrogant in its attitude to the general worker , taking the view that labour and capital should not be antagonistic to each other but should instead wotk together for the promotion of native industry . With this outlook the DCTU presented no threat to the political , social or industrial status quo and , not surprisingly , attracted the patronage of establishment figures such as the Catholic Archbishop William Walsh , Unionist Alderman Robert Sexton and 'Lord' Iveagh .......

(MORE LATER).

BLOODY SUNDAY.......On 30 January 1972 , 14 civilians were shot dead by the British Army . They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry , protesting against internment without trial . British 'Lord' Widgery was highly selective in the 'evidence' he used in his 'official' report on the matter - and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since . Their case is too strong to ignore any longer . First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 . By Eamonn McCann . (Note - Tomorrow ,Saturday 28th January , a Commemoration to mark the 34th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday will be held at the GPO in Dublin between 1PM and 3PM . All Welcome.)

On 29 January 1972 (the eve of 'Bloody Sunday') the DUP announced the cancellation of their 'prayer meeting' - "We have been assured that the civil rights march will be halted by force if necessary . We are prepared to give the (British) government a final opportunity to demonstrate their integrity and honour their promise , but warn that if they fail in this undertaking they need never again ask loyalist people to forfeit their basic right of peaceful and legal assembly . "

That same afternoon (29 January 1972), a run-of-the-mill riot in William Street shuddered to a halt when a local man , Peter McLaughlin , was hit in the shoulder by a single shot fired by a British soldier stationed on a rooftop about 100 yards away - as the streets cleared , another man , Peter Robson , ran out to help : as he bent over McLaughlin , another shot from the rooftop on the Strand Road struck him in the shoulder and passed through his body less than half an inch from his spine .

Within an hour , the British Army had issued a press statement claiming that the two men had been throwing nail-bombs : they had fallen a few yards from the spot where Damien Donaghey and John Johnston , the first casualties of Bloody Sunday , were to be shot the next day . Neither man was ever questioned or charged in relation to the 'nail-bomb' allegation . Later that same night , (29 January 1972) at their home on Westway , Creggan , Peter Robson's brother Terry , having driven from Belfast upon hearing of the shooting noted military vehicles on the move in unusual numbers . He remarked - " There's something really odd about all this . Something's up ....... "

When the RUC's Chief Constable Jack Hermon said on March 24th 1982 that the IRA "...is reeling from these blows and becoming desperate .. " he was undoubtedly giving voice to a new-found optimism shared by other Six County 'security advisors' that the IRA's 'back' , which , contrary to British government expectations , had been strengthened , not weakened , by the hunger-strikes , might finally be broken through the demoralisation among Republican supporters which they believed the use of informers would provoke .

That optimism proved ill-advised , and RUC man Hermon received a 'rap on the knuckles' from fellow loyalists for his bravado , when the IRA struck devastatingly next day in West Belfast , shooting three British soldiers dead in an M60 machine-gun ambush . Since then , the IRA has proved effectively time after time - maintaining earlier levels of military operations - that whatever internal problems have been posed by the RUC's use of informers , the tactic is far from being a winning card , and that its structure and operational personnel remain intact . Neither the large-scale arrests on the 'evidence' of Christopher Black or those on the 'evidence' of Raymond Gilmour and Bobby Quigley have prevented the IRA in Belfast and Derry operating with considerable success over the past year .

Nevertheless the RUC has continued its use of paid informers with undiminished enthusiasm precisely because the primary thrust of the tactic was not to cripple the IRA organisationally (which from bitter experience the RUC believes to be an unrealistic proposition) but has been geared to inflicting a political defeat by creating a crisis of confidence in the Republican Movement among its active supporters - demoralising them and making them afraid of giving support or assistance to IRA Volunteers , in case - so the propaganda goes - they should later be informed on ....... ('1169...' Comment - ...much the same as what appears to be happening today in the Provo organisation : Westminster , having exposed some of its own agents in the Provisional group , has succeeded in neutralising any possible political or military opposition to it that still may have been present in Adams' organisation . Members of that group now face two options - either stay 'in the fold' , which means keeping the head down , accepting further sell-outs and hope , like their leadership have , to obtain a political 'career' from doing so , or - walk ! And the fact that they did'nt walk away from the Adams Family ten years ago when this debacle started has convinced the PSF leadership [and rightly so , it seems] that their members are indeed politically 'pliable' enough to eventually fit-in to an RUC/PSNI uniform and to wear same in the belief that they do so in order to obtain the reunification of their country ! Redmond and Parnell must surely be surprised that such 'followers' still exist ...)(MORE LATER).

Thursday, January 26, 2006

WHERE SINN FEIN STANDS....... The following statement was issued subsequent to a meeting of the Caretaker Executive of Sinn Fein on January 17th 1970 .

We call on those who would follow a leadership which flies in the face of all reason and experience of Irish conditions : we say to them - " Think again . The road to Westminster , Stormont and Leinster House is paved with the good intentions of erstwhile Republicans . Tomorrow may be too late . Give your support now to the Republican Movement which will last . Do not throw your efforts away on yet another parliamentary debacle ."

We have the support of Republicans in almost all the country outside of sections in Dublin and Wicklow and a small number of scattered individuals elsewhere . We are going ahead and one of our first steps is the launching of a new Republican monthly newspaper which will be called 'An Phoblacht' , the first edition of which is expected on February 1st (1970) . For a number of years now those involved in the take-over bid have traded on the good name of Sinn Fein - a name respected for honesty , integrity , sincerity and national ideals by Irishmen everywhere . Now that the 'umbrella' has been removed from them , they stand exposed and the Irish people in their own way can now form their judgement . We are content to leave it at that .

BLOODY SUNDAY.......On 30 January 1972 , 14 civilians were shot dead by the British Army . They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry , protesting against internment without trial . British 'Lord' Widgery was highly selective in the 'evidence' he used in his 'official' report on the matter - and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since . Their case is too strong to ignore any longer . First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 . By Eamonn McCann . (Note - on Saturday 28th January next , a Commemoration to mark the 34th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday will be held at the GPO in Dublin between 1PM and 3PM . All Welcome.)

This group , minus the Joint Chiefs of Staff , also constituted the British Cabinet's 'Northern Ireland Committee' - it is likely that the Derry March featured at this meeting , too : during the British Commons debate in April 1992 on presentation of the Widgery Report ,Edward Heath was to reveal that "...(British) Cabinet Ministers.. " had been aware of the plans for 'handling' the Derry March . The next day , 29 January 1972 , the RUC and the British Army issued a joint statement : " Experience this year has already shown that attempted marches often end in violence and (sic) must have been foreseen by the organisers . Clearly , the responsibility for this violence and the consequences of it must rest fairly and squarely on the shoulders of those who encourage people to break the law . The security forces ('1169...' Comment - sic) have a duty to take action against those who set out to break the law . " ('1169....' Comment - As we now know , that joint RUC/BA statement , issued on the eve of what became known as 'Bloody Sunday' , was a clear signal from Westminster that carnage was on its way to Derry ....)

1982 was a remarkable year for the Republican struggle in two respects - on the positive side , the hard lessons and re-appraisals that followed the hunger-strikes produced an increased politicisation among the Nationalist community and a growth in political maturity among Republican activists . The fruits of this , in terms of reflecting popular support for Republican resistance and a significant rejection of SDLP constitutional'reformism' , were seen by the October 20th Assembly elections which marked a real advance politically for the Republican Movement , posing yet another threat to the British administration's grip on the North .

Less fortunately on the other hand , 1982 was also memorable for the large number of paid RUC informers whose testimony has resulted in lengthy imprisonments on remand for scores of nationalists and some loyalists , has prompted widespread raids and house-wrecking across the North , and has left the usual catalogue of trauma and family suffering in its wake . The RUC's use of the 'informer tactic' has been facilitated by the enticement of massive financial rewards and immunity from prosecution for informers and by fundamental changes in legal practice in the Six Counties .

As the trial of 38 North Belfast people on the 'evidence' of informer Christopher Black draws to a conclusion , Sean Delaney takes a look at recent informer cases and argues that they should be viewed in terms of a massive psychological propaganda offensive against the Nationalist community by the RUC , and as part of a tactical change in the way that community's political resistance is repressed . Failing to understand that , or becoming demoralised , is dangerously to swallow that propaganda .......

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

WHERE SINN FEIN STANDS....... The following statement was issued subsequent to a meeting of the Caretaker Executive of Sinn Fein on January 17th 1970 .

We are unanimous in that there can be no question of rapprochement or of meetings with those who are opposed to us ; for their part , their attitude before and during the Ard Fheis was as could be expected . On Saturday morning , January 10th (1970) , the opening day of the Ard Fheis , a Dublin morning paper carried an alleged ' Northern Command' statement which said , in reference to those against (State) recognition - ... " the divisive tactivs of those few malcontents .. " and "...it is being openly suggested that Fianna Fail has already succeeded in planting one of its agents in this group .. " .

The smear tactic was early in use : on Saturday night , before the Sinn Fein Commission recommendations could be considered by the Ard Fheis delegates , a statement was read from the already compromised 'Army Council' which urged the delegates to accept the proposals - it spoke in typically hard-line terms of the Provisional Army Council and its supporters , saying that "...if they persisted in error , then all sentiment must be put aside in dealing with them .. " : this dogmatist attitude is surely worthy of the Inquisition of many years ago in its dealings with 'heretics' .

The same source said later regarding 'recognition' that "...as long as they advanced one step in revolutionary theory , it did not matter if they slipped back two in 'organisation' .. " . Again , on that Saturday night , "...minorities.." which could not carry out whatever policies were adopted were told that they would have to 'get out' . So much for the attitude of the 'new parliamentarians' before Sunday , January 11th (1970) : sice then they have found our support to be nation-wide and decisive . They talk of "...healing the split.. " now that they are on the defensive : we reject their overtures for the reasons given in this statement and we believe that which divides us is fundamental and runs very deep . We call on them to cease describing themselves as Sinn Fein . That honoured name has never belonged in Westminster , Stormont or Leinster House . Let them join with their new-found 'friends' in their 'National Liberation Front' or whatever they wish to call it and leave the Republican Movement alone .......

(MORE LATER).

BLOODY SUNDAY.......On 30 January 1972 , 14 civilians were shot dead by the British Army . They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry , protesting against internment without trial . British 'Lord' Widgery was highly selective in the 'evidence' he used in his 'official' report on the matter - and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since . Their case is too strong to ignore any longer . First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 . By Eamonn McCann . (Note - on Saturday 28th January next , a Commemoration to mark the 34th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday will be held at the GPO in Dublin between 1PM and 3PM . All Welcome.)

Unionists were not impressed by the performance of the British 'security forces' regarding anti-internment marches - so they issued a threat of Orange Order marches in 'defiance' of the ban if a stop was'nt put to the anti-internment protests - " In the absence of a clear demonstration of the ban's effectiveness , the (British) government can hardly expect our people to observe it . " At Stormont the following Tuesday , 25 January (1972) , Ulster Unionists MP's Robert Mitchell and John Laird defied the party whip and voted for a motion jointly proposed by Mr. Craig and Dr. Paisley condemning the application of the ban to parades by "...the loyal orders.. " ; on the same evening , the Derry branch of the DUP called for 'action' against the Bogside-Creggan : "...the Queen's writ must run in all parts of our city .. " and announced a 'prayer-meeting' in Guildhall Square at 3PM the following Sunday to coincide with the scheduled arrival of the anti-internment march .

The DUP statement ended with a 'plea' - " Where are the men at the top ? Why are they so silent ? What are they waiting for ? " The following evening , Mr. Craig enthused a packed rally at the Apprentice Boys Hall in Derry , contemptuously contrasting the fumbling of Brian Faulkner with the 'tough leadership' that would have been forthcoming from 'true men' like Edward Carson - loyalists , he declared , "...must find new leaders and go into action . " He announced a series of demonstrations to begin the following week , to culminate in a 'monster rally' in Belfast on 18 March 1972 : "(Nineteen-seventy-two) would be loyal Ulster's (sic) year of decision . " At 8.30 AM the following morning , the first two RUC men to lose their lives in Derry in 'the Troubles' , Peter Gilgun , 26 , married with an 18-month-old son , and David Montgomery , 20 , were killed in a Provo ambush as their car travelled along Creggan Road at the edge of the 'no-go area' .

There was now , naturally , even more intense outrage in the calls for harsher 'security action' . As those two RUC men drove into the ambush , Mr. Faulkner was en route to London , possibly ruminating on the meeting of the Stormont Joint Security Committee , which he had chaired the previous night - and at which the Derry anti-internment march would have been discussed .......

Comdt. General Thomas Maguire's Statement of 1969 :" The majority of the delegates at the December 1969 IRA Convention , having passed the resolution referred to above , proceeded to elect an Executive which in turn appointed a new Army Council , committed to implement the resolution . That Convention had neither the right nor the authority to pass such a resolution . Accordingly , I , as the sole surviving member of the Executive of Dail Eireann and the sole surviving signatory of the 1938 Proclamation , hereby declare that the resolution is illegal and that the alleged Executive and Army Council are illegal , and have no right to claim the allegiance of either soldiers or citizens of the Irish Republic .

The delegates who opposed the resolution , together with delegates from units which were not represented at the Convention , met subsequently in Convention and repudiated the resolution . They re-affirmed their allegiance to the Irish Republic and elected a Provisional Executive which , in turn , appointed a Provisional Army Council . I hereby further declare that the Provisional Executive and the Provisional Army Council are the lawful Executive and Army Council respectively of the IRA* and that the governmental authority delegated in the Proclamation of 1938 now resides in the Provisional Army Council and its lawful successors . I fully endorse their call for support from Irish people everywhere towards the realisation of the full freedom of Ireland .

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

WHERE SINN FEIN STANDS....... The following statement was issued subsequent to a meeting of the Caretaker Executive of Sinn Fein on January 17th 1970 .

We believe in vigorous local government representation and we have the support of the majority of Sinn Fein local councillors in our present stand . We seek to build an alternative 32-County State structure which will draw off support from the existing British-imposed partition system within which our objectives are unattainable .

A number of assumptions and impressions exist in the public mind due to speculative and inaccurate reporting :(A) That we are militarists who will promote 'border raids' is untrue . We will , nonetheless , support all efforts to defend our people in the Six Counties . (B) It is said that we are 'wild men' , whose policies are crude and old-fashioned , while those now in opposition to us are 'reasonable people' . To this we reply that while we adhere to basic principles we believe in forward-looking policies as have been outlined in this statement .(C) The generalisation that those who intend recognising Westminster , Stormont and Leinster House are 'progressives' while we are 'traditionalists' is also false . They will at best end up in parliamentary blind alleys as have the other splinters from the Republican Movement - Cumann na nGaedheal (now 'Fine Gael') , Fianna Fail and Clann na Poblachta , not to mention the Northern Nationalist Party .('1169...' Comment - .....and this crowd , too .)

This was the British intention in imposing the 'settlement' of 1921 and after 50 years the constitutional framework has failed and frustrated the Irish people . While we take our inspiration and experience from the past we are realistic as to what will strengthen the people's will to resist British imperialism and what will weaken that will . Participation in the institutions designed to frustrate our people's progress to full freedom is certain to weaken that will to resist .......

(MORE LATER).

BLOODY SUNDAY.......On 30 January 1972 , 14 civilians were shot dead by the British Army . They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry , protesting against internment without trial . British 'Lord' Widgery was highly selective in the 'evidence' he used in his 'official' report on the matter - and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since . Their case is too strong to ignore any longer . First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 . By Eamonn McCann . (Note - on Saturday 28th January next , a Commemoration to mark the 34th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday will be held at the GPO in Dublin between 1PM and 3PM . All Welcome.)

The 30 January 1972 march was scheduled to begin in the Creggan and to weave through the Bogside before proceeding to Guildhall Square in the city centre ; it promised to be the biggest in a series of marches* that had begun on Christmas day with a demonstration from the outskirts of Belfast to the gates of Long Kesh internment camp . ('1169....' Comment - * A fact usually overlooked by journalists commenting on 'Bloody Sunday' and , equally , ignored by Westminster , who have attempted to portray that particular demonstration as the one-and-only time that 'the natives' "broke the law..." on group protests .)

In the four weeks before Bloody Sunday there were nine 'illegal' anti-internment marches across the North : Brit 'Supremo' Brian Faulkner was constantly challenged on the issue by 'dissidents' within his own party , such as William Craig , and by the 'Reverend' Ian Paisley , of the recently-formed 'Democratic Unionist Party' . Internment , they complained , had not made the 'State' more secure - the 'law' was openly being flouted on a vast scale . If "...drastic.." action was not taken , warned Mr. Craig on 16 January 1972 , "...there will be determined loyalist action to sweep weak leadership away .. " .

On 22 January 1972 , an anti-internment march in Armagh was scattered by British soldiers firing CS gas and rubber bullets ; on the same day , a march to a newly-opened prison camp at Magilligan in County Derry was beaten and kicked into disarray by British soldiers , including men of the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment bussed-in from near Belfast . Civil Rights leaders complained about British soldiers 'putting the boot in' but , as far as Faulkner's far-right critics were concerned , he was still 'pussyfooting' around ! As Armagh and Magilligan marchers nursed their bruises on the way home , the 'Grand Amalgamated Committee' of the Orange Order , the Royal Black Preceptory and the Apprentice Boys of Derry was meeting in Lurgan .......

Comdt. General Thomas Maguire's Statement of 1969 : We publish in full the text of a statement issued by Comdt. General Thomas Maguire , Cross , County Mayo , on the question of Republican leadership -

" An IRA Convention , held in December 1969 , by a majority of the delegates attending , passed a resolution removing all embargoes on political participation in parliament from the Constitution and Rules of the IRA . The effect of the resolution is the abandonment of what is popularly termed the 'Abstentionist Policy' - the 'Abstentionist Policy' means that Republican candidates contesting parliamentary elections in Leinster House , Stormont or Westminster give pre-election pledges not to take seats in any of those parliaments .

The Republican candidates seek elections to the 32-County Parliament of the Irish Republic , the Republican Dail , or Dail Eireann , to give it its official title . The declared objective is to elect sufficient representatives to enable the 32-County Dail Eireann to be re-assembled . In December , 1938 , the surviving faithful members of the latest 32-County Republican Parliament , the Second Dail , elected in 1921 , delegated their Executive powers of government to the Army Council of the IRA .

Monday, January 23, 2006

WHERE SINN FEIN STANDS....... The following statement was issued subsequent to a meeting of the Caretaker Executive of Sinn Fein on January 17th 1970 .

At this stage it is necessary to give an indication of our views on social and economic questions , because 'extreme Socialism' has been listed as one of the main points of difference : our socialism envisages the nationalisation of the monetary system , commercial banks and insurance companies , key industries , mines , building land and fishing rights ; the division of large ranches ; an upper limit on the amount of land to be owned by any one individual ; the setting-up of worker-owned co-operatives on a wide scale in industry , agriculture , fishing and distribution , but still leaving ample room for private initiative under State supervision. The extension and development of Credit Unions is also included .

What the junta which remained in control in the Intercontinental Hotel seek would lead to dictatorship and in this they travel the same road as the Communist Party of 'Northern Ireland' , the Irish Workers' Party and the Connolly Youth Movement . As an example - they tried to knock RTE cameras during the walk-out and assaulted several of the delegates who were leaving , showing that they would deny free speech to anybody who dis-agreed with them .

We have played , and will continue to play , our part in the struggle for Civil Rights in the Six Counties .......('1169...' Comment - a bad choice of words for a document such as this : the struggle is not about obtaining mere 'civil rights' in the Six Counties - it is about removing the British military and political presence .)

(MORE LATER).

BLOODY SUNDAY.......On 30 January 1972 , 14 civilians were shot dead by the British Army . They had been taking part in a civil rights march in Derry , protesting against internment without trial . British 'Lord' Widgery was highly selective in the 'evidence' he used in his 'official' report on the matter - and some of the accounts he chose to include were highly suspect. The victims' families have campaigned for justice ever since . Their case is too strong to ignore any longer . First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , February 1998 . By Eamonn McCann . (Note - on Saturday 28th January next , a Commemoration to mark the 34th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday will be held at the GPO in Dublin between 1PM and 3PM . All Welcome.)

Bloody Sunday was so hugely shocking at the time , and has echoed so distinctively and ominously down the years since , that it has come to be seen almost as an event on its own , as if having happened in isolation from the political context of its time . But the pressure that produced the spasm of evil around Rossville Street on 30 January 1972 had been generated from deep within the North's political system .

The 'parliament' at Stormont , which the Unionist Party had dominated for 51 years , was beleagured from without and disintegrating from within - the specific likely purpose of the Bloody Sunday operation will have been to thwart the perceived threat to Stormont rule posed by what was happening in Derry . The 30 January 1972 march was in opposition to internment without trial , which had been introduced by Mr.Brian Faulkner , 'Home-Affairs' Minister as well as British Prime Minister , under Stormont's Special Powers Act the previous August .

The march was 'illegal' , all parades having also been banned in August : Mr. Faulkner's extreme-unionist critics had welcomed internment but were angered that the blanket nature of the ban curtailed Orange processions , too . Internment so enraged the Catholic working-class areas from which most internees were drawn that many - and some not for the first time - instantly became 'no-go areas' for the RUC and the British Army . The largest and most obdurate was the 30,000-strong Bogside-Creggan district of Derry .......

In June 1923 General Maguire escaped from Athlone Barracks and was never re-captured . Along with other surviving faithful members of the Second Dail - the last All-Ireland parliament - he delegated Executive Authority to the Army Council of the IRA in 1938 . In December 1969 , he recognised the Provisional Army Council as the legitimate successor to the 1938 body .

Comdt. General Maguire has delivered many commemorative addresses over the years , the most notable in recent times being at the symbolic funeral of Mayo hunger-striker Frank Stagg . In April of last year (1985) he unveiled a memorial plaque at Tuam old work-house site to eleven of his command who fell before Free State firing squads in 1923 . Among those who died at Tuam was his younger brother Sean , aged 17 years and three months . Tom Maguire remains active and farms at Cross , Claremorris , County Mayo : he is now the sole survivor of the Second Dail Eireann .......(Tomorrow - 'Comdt. General Thomas Maguire's Statement of 1969' .)(MORE LATER).